Diary of a NonBeliever
by Pam in pastels
Summary: Eric and Sookie find themselves getting closer and closer to each other even though Eric hasn't yet recovered his memories. Things get interesting when the the two decide to work together to rescue an innocent girl from the clutches of the Fellowship
1. Chapter 1

Diary of a Non-Believer

The cold darkness shielded us from the sight of anyone who would know me. I didn't know what to expect walking into a vamp bar in Louisiana; yeah I know vamps are dangerous but why should I care? I was on the outs with my parents who wanted me to stay home working in the family garage instead of going to college up north. The parental unit always did voice their disgust with vampires, but they're just total hypocrites. They go out at night at least once a month to god only knows where and when they come back they try to hide pieces of tattered clothing from me. I don't want to even imagine what they're up to. Probably some orgy thing like the ones that cook at Merlotte's in Bon Temps brags about.

Even though I'm stubborn, I wasn't stupid. I brought one of my friends along with me in case things got out of hand. He was on the football team so he's got enough strength to fight for us both. I don't believe some of the rumors that are said about vampires. They can't possibly be that strong; they're dead! I think Natalie from the girls softball team was just yanking my chain.

It was winter so the night was a bit chillier and I clung to my cardigan in contempt. How could I possibly look sexy covered up like this? I was definitely going to ditch it. Randy and I got out of the car and looked contently at each other. I started walking forward, but he pulled me back by the hand.

"Hey Caroline, is this a date?" He looked a combination of hopeful and terrified. We'd been friends for years and he would never admit that he had a crush on me. That was his decision. Besides, friendships always get weird when the guy finally admits the crush. There's way too much pressure and I currently enjoyed the relaxed friendship as it was. "You really want a date with me when you could score with a vampire?"

He tensed at that. I had said something that intrigued him. He was intensely curious about the prospect of vampire sex. God help me if he found the vamp willing. I'd get stuck without a ride home. This wasn't the type of place I'd want to have a sleepover at. We strode towards the door with a neon light hanging above it in red. Fangtasia. Was that supposed to be funny? I felt the wind permeate my sweater and jeans. We got to the front of the line finally and I stopped dead. The first vampire I ever laid my eyes on was gorgeous. She had long shimmering blond hair and pale milky white skin. She looked like a model and dressed like a slut. Outfitted in a sparse black leather corset that propped up her breasts with tight fitting black pants and three inch screw me shoes. She switched her gaze on us and asked for our IDs and the cover charge. Twenty bucks each? Was it some special night? I looked dismally in my wallet at the ten dollar bill I had brought for drinks. I handed the woman my fake ID and she glanced at it suspiciously. "You're 21?" I pretended to look incensed.

"Are you saying I look old?" A bitter note lodged in my throat as I struggled on the fine line between anger and fear.

Randy looked at me nervously. "Hey, I only have one twenty on me. Why don't you go inside and I'll come back with the money to join you?" I didn't want to argue or to stand in line again, so I took the twenty and hugged him goodbye.

As I crossed the threshold the first thing to cross my mind was how under-dressed I was. Here I was standing wide-eyed in my pink knit cardigan and blue jeans, while everyone else was wearing black leather pants and jackets. Girls who wouldn't fit in a size 6 had squeezed themselves into the tightest looking corsets to the point that I thought the buttons would pop off the outfit or the girl would faint. Well how was I supposed to know there was a dress code? I must of looked like such a dork, and I got some stares as I walked up to the bar. The bartender was quite different from the other vamp. He wore a black vest which exposed a lot of skin with some hot looking tattoos and a well defined six pack. He was tall dark and mysterious. Who would believe that any of these perfect creatures could be lethal?

"What will it be?" His words were icy, harsh and devoid of all emotion. I flipped through a mental dictionary of drinks and remembered my Mom's favorite.

"Gin and tonic, please" I said, seductively sweet. This might be fun after all! He poured the drink and passed it to me and our fingers touched lightly on the cool perspiring glass. I looked up and smiled. "So are you like a flair bartender? You know? Can y'all do tricks with the bottles and stuff?" I was genuinely curious and I wanted to sound like I knew a thing or two about bars. He looked at me grimly.

"Why should I need to do tricks to entertain mortals?" Well that was a slap in the face. Nobody messes with my pride and gets away with it! I could feel my eyes narrow into a glare and my heart beat increase.

"Well excuse me if I'm just trying to ask about your job. Just caus' you ain't "mortal" doesn't mean you can't have manners!"

I didn't realize I was shouting and the whole bar was staring at me. The crowd parted towards the back to reveal an older vampire. I could only guess that he was older by the way the rest of the vamps looked at him. I surmised that this was the head honcho. From a visit to the website earlier, I knew his name: Eric Northman. I could see from the contours of his shirt that he was built like Hugh Jackman. He was dressed a little more casually than everyone else in a black shirt and jeans. The overhead lights highlighted his brow and the pale blue eyes deeply set into the sockets. He had . He moved so fast and silently that one second he was at the back of the bar and the next he was standing right in front of me. I gave a little gasp which the crowd sniggered at.

"What seems to be the problem Charles?" He looked at the bartender with a grave disposition. How do you like that? He didn't ask me and I'm the disgruntled customer in this situation. That made me even angrier. I was too upset to keep my mouth shut and I answered before Charles did.

"The problem is a lack of manners in your employees sir. A fact that you seem oblivious to. I think I deserve an apology from Charlie here". My words sprang out of my mouth and a second after I felt fear that I might have gone too far. I snapped back to my anger. I wouldn't back down. This is America and I have a say in customer service.

"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't harass my staff with trivial questions Miss"

"The last I checked the customer is always right"

"And I have every right to throw you back out on the street. Now if you wouldn't mind sitting down and letting Charles do his job?"

"You're not even going to make him apologize?!" I looked up into his eyes and saw only a blank stare that somehow made me feel calmer and transfixed to them.

"No. Sit down" And without any thought about it I followed the command. My eyes still gazed up into his. He looked away to check on the rest of his patrons. They were all back to their drinks and conversations and the bar was running smoothly again. I felt relaxed and mildly content. Those pale baby blues were still there looking at me curiously when I closed my eyes and sipped slowly on my drink. It wasn't very good, which was a bit of a let down considering the price.

I felt a warm palm on my shoulder and jerked back into reality. Randy stared down at me with concern. "What happened to you Caroline? You look like a deer in the headlights" I smiled vaguely and tried to recall what had happened. Surprisingly very little had happened, but yet that's not how I felt. I had been insulted and subdued like an animal. Somehow the lack of emotions from the staff filled me with hot contempt. My breathing slowed as I contemplated what I had done: I had picked a fight with a potentially lethal predator and escaped unscathed. Eric Northman had saved me from a slow and painful death of exsanguination.

A swirl of emotions coursed through my psyche: anger, gratitude, fear, lust, excitement. Out of the contradictions within me I chose the positive and humbling feeling of graciousness. I determined that I would repay Mr. Northman somehow. He had saved my life. It was only logical that I would lay down my own. Now I had a purpose to fulfill and I now considered what was in my power to do. I didn't want to become a waitress for the vamps. They had a small life expectancy and I was hardly wishing for death. As exciting as it would be to be a mistress for Northman, I had no intention of squandering my precious assets, and it wouldn't help the opinion that my parents had of vampires. I could be a blood donor. I wasn't squeamish and I healed relatively fast. Surely there was something else I could do to appease him.

It occurred to me that I might not have a choice in the matter. I should just be happy that I'm alive and offer my apologies and services. I looked around the bar. He was seated in the back on a chair that greatly resembled a throne. How fitting. I stood with shaky legs, but a firm resolution. The moment I started to walk his eyes moved to meet mine. There was no emotion there, though perhaps his features portrayed a slight curiosity. I moved cautiously, head up, eyes down, averted from his. I stopped feet away from him and stood head down, at a loss as to what to say. He said quietly, "What is it now? I said that if you had any more concerns to go to another bar"

Wow. Those vampires sure were forthcoming in using their manners. "I have no problems. I wanted to thank you" His eyes focused on me and the puzzled look on his face spread noticeably. I continued, "I realize that by stopping the fight between myself and the bartender that you saved my life. I didn't want to seem discourteous. Thank you Mr. Northman. If there's anything I could do to repay you, just name it".

"You wish to repay me?" He seemed deeply pensive for a moment then switched back to his stern countenance. "What services could you possibly provide me with to make amends for my mercy? What are you willing to do Miss...?

"Caroline sir, Caroline Fields. I would be willing to do anything that wouldn't involve losing my virginity". I was astounded by my own frankness.

"So you would be willing to forfeit your life but not your..." he paused, searching for an appropriate word, "Innocence? How very Christian of you". He smirked and my knees started to buckle. He was both terrifying and handsome. "There may in fact be a position here. We are sadly short of waitresses at the moment". My stomach lurched as I thought of the reasons for the "decrease" in hired help. "Give your information to Pam and she will call you if I require your services Miss Fields. Have a nice night".

Holy crap what have I gotten myself into?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The handsome picture of Eric looked back at me from the Fangtasia website. If I was going to be employed by Mr. Northman I would at least do this right and do my research. Mom always lectured me to never do anything half-assed. I wanted to find out anything I could about Northman, but all I found on the site was an ad to buy the Fangtasia calendar. Northman posed as Mr. January, which sure didn't help my feelings about the worker/employer relationship. God, he looks hot. I guess I wouldn't mind spending some time working for Mr. January. That's something I could brag to my friends about.

For some reason I just couldn't stop looking at the picture. Even through photography his pale blue eyes held mine. I closed the screen on the computer, picked up a romance novel and flopped down on the four poster bed. That's when Natalie called to chat.

I laid on my bed, twirling the telephone cord earnestly around my index finger, starting to lose interest with the conversation when she asked, "Hey, have you seen Randy around? He said that he went to the vamp bar in Shreveport with you last night, but nobody's seen hide nor hair of him." This was startling news. We went to Fangtasia a week ago. Why would Randy go back to Shreveport? Unless he had taken my comment about vampire sex seriously. Oh jeez, the most terrible images filled my mind at that second of Randy drained, dead in a ditch somewhere off the parish road.

I forced myself to respond with a false curiosity that repeated her earlier statement. "Really? Nobody's seen Randy? Well that's just terrible. I bet the guys on the football team are worried. They have that big game against Marthaville next week and Randy's the quarterback!"

"Honestly Caroline, can you stop thinking about school functions for one second and tell me what's going on? I've been your friend for years and I know when you're trying to change the subject." She was right. It was no use trying to cover up. I told her about the night that Randy and I went to the bar trying to leave out the part about my owing Eric Northman. "So you're saying that Randy never stood up for you or talked back to the vamps and you did? Girl, you must have a death wish. It ain't right when a guy like Randy's got more sense than you to stay away from the vampers. He's not the brightest crayon in the box."

I wondered what could have happened to Randy. The only second I left him alone in the bar was to talk with Northman. Or maybe before he entered the bar he had done something to piss off a random vampire. That didn't seem like him, to just go looking for trouble. I felt guilt deep in the pit of my stomach until it made my eyes water. This was my fault. Randy didn't want to go to Shreveport, but I coerced him into taking me. The idea came into my head to go back to Fangtasia to ask Eric Northman whether he had seen anything or knew something that could help me find my friend. It was just past sunset so I could call the number I had from Pam to find out. I curtly finished my conversation with Natalie and picked the receiver back up to dial.

The same cool sensual voice of Pam muttered in my ear, "Thanks for calling Fangtasia, The Bar With a Bite. This is Pam". She sounded bored.

"Hello Pam? This is Caroline Fields. I know I'm supposed to wait for a call from you before coming back to Fangtasia to talk to Mr. Northman, but it's urgent and I need to speak with him."

"Eric is busy and does not wish to be disturbed now. Do you want to leave him a message?"

"No" I said bitterly sarcastic, "Just wanted to tell Mr. January that somebody went missing from his bar that---"

She cut me off before I had a chance to get mad. "You mean you know about Charles' disappearance? How would you know anything about that? We just found out an hour ago. Eric is furious". She said it with such severity that you would think Eric were some sort of volcano just about to explode.

"I wasn't talking about Charlie. My friend Randy went missing when he was supposedly at the bar."

"Why should I be concerned about what happens to a Were?" Emphasizing the last word with a distinct distaste.

"Because it's probably linked to Charlie missing too. That just can't be a coincidence. And what the hell is a Were supposed to be?"

The line went silent though I could tell Pam was still there pondering what to do. "I'll tell Eric about your friend's disappearance however I don't think it has any link to Charles. Then again the two-natured don't get along very well with vampires."

Before I could ask what she meant by two-natured, I was put on hold. This was getting frustrating. I could already picture the sequence of events. Charles probably had killed or seriously maimed Randy and left him to die cold and alone. Or maybe he was torturing him? A new wave of sorrow washed over me. I hung up the phone. Maybe Pam was lying to me. I couldn't trust anyone in this situation. I had to find out for myself.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It isn't very often that I go to my parents for advice, but they were the most knowledgeable adults I knew. I wasn't going to go gallivanting off like Nancy Drew without telling somebody the facts. Well, not surprisingly they were unhappy with me for sneaking out, but they became quieter as I explained the condition of Randy's probable death. I got a long lecture about doing stupid things and they said they were considering taking me off the softball team.

"You can't do that. It's not fair." I was starting to pout.

"What's unfair is that you deceived us Caroline Marie. What's even worse is that you put somebody else in danger in order to get some sick adrenaline rush of going to meet vampires. You are not going back there ever again."

"But I have to if Mr. Northman calls me." Oops. I had just opened a whole other can of worms. My mother went chalk white with fear while my father began to resemble a plum, his cheeks flushed in rage.

"You made a contract with Eric Northman?!" He got up from his chair at almost vampire speed and slapped me across the face. "Why the hell would you do that? You want to associate with vampires and take part in filthy sin?" He was working up a sermon which I interrupted out of desperation.

"The guy saved my life. If I didn't do something to thank him I could of just gotten killed that night. I didn't want to seem ungracious."

"Don't you understand sweetheart that Northman will never release you from a contract?" My mother had tears streaming down her face. "You will be kept around for any jobs he deems appropriate for you and you will never be able to say no. One of those jobs will lead you to your death. Just look at what happened to your brother."

Realization dawned on me. "You said Louis died in a gang fight. You lied to me." I was prostrate with anger now.

"The vampires are a gang." Dads' breathing had steadied now and he looked worn out. "They roped him into a bargain just as they have done to you. They thought they could use him because he was two-natured and in the end they killed him for knowing too much about their organization."

"Wait." I recalled the word from my conversation with Pam. "What does two-natured mean?" I paused to recollect the other word from my memory. "What is a Were?"

My parents looked dismally at one another. My father spoke.

"I was hoping to keep you ignorant of this your entire life since you don't carry the trait." He stopped to consider. I sat with my arms crossed, foot tapping, annoyed as hell that my parents had wanted to keep me in the dark. "A Were is commonly referred to as a Werewolf in human culture. We become wolves on the full moon and are blessed with increased stamina and agility." I snorted and rolled my eyes and then caught the fact that he said "we"

I instantly sat up with my hands gripping the edge of the couch in frustration. My eyes clouded by tears brought on by this harsh truth. "You have lied to me my whole life. You are hypocrites. You say that vampires are bad and evil, that they deceive you. I think you're both the most deceptive people, alive or dead!" I stood up and bolted through the living room and out the door before they could say anything else to me. I would never speak to them again. They may have raised me, but I refused to be a daughter to two lying SOBs who wouldn't tell the truth to their own kin.

The chill of the winter air came upon me once I had stopped jogging. The tears cooled my face as they slid down my cheeks in large sobs. My chest heaved uncontrollably and I crashed to the forest floor on my hands and knees, inhaling sharply and choking. I slowly got up and started walking at a fast pace towards the parish road. I thought about how I would live now that I had cut my family out of my life. Minimum wage wasn't really possible to live off of unless your employer provided room and board and I didn't know of anybody who did that around here. As if nature knew my misery, it started to rain lightly on the asphalt of the parish road. I looked down at my watch to see that it was now 8:10. I couldn't go to one of my friends' houses because then their parents would send me back. I might have been able to bunk with Randy had he been around and he would have been discreet enough to keep the whole thing hush hush.

It pained me to think of the only place that I really was welcome. I certainly did not consider it a place anyone would want to live in, but Fangtasia would let me work for room and board and I would never have to worry about my parents coming to find me. So I started on my way towards my future, pelted by rain, thinking of Mr. January.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It took me hours to get to Fangtasia since I was alternating between walking and jogging. I hadn't eaten dinner and my stomach growled angrily at me. The fact that I was cold and wet did not help my condition. I remembered I had a little packet of Jelly Bellys in my front pants pocket. Thank God I brought sugar with me everywhere. I felt no improvement in my hunger, but the taste of the jelly beans lifted my spirits. You just can't be sad when you're munching on something sweet. In order to pass the time I hummed a few tunes and after a while my eyes noticed the reflection of a red neon light on the asphalt and I looked up in relief. It was about 3 AM so not many cars were left in the parking lot, though my sight lingered hungrily over a gorgeous red corvette. I wonder who that belonged to? Being raised with a father as a mechanic, I could appreciate a fine piece of machinery. The thought of Dad blindsided me and I stopped to gather my emotions.

I walked to the entrance which was now closed but after pulling on the door, I found it ajar and slipped inside. There were no customers at all. The waitresses were just wiping down the tables and putting up the last of the chairs. Trying not to stutter from the cold, I turned to a short blond girl and asked, "Wh-where's Mr. Northman?" She didn't respond, but instead pointed a finger behind the bar towards the hall. I wandered toward the only office at the end. There were no lights on, but I could hear voices arguing. I easily picked out the infuriated voice of Eric Northman, while Pam's silvery, calm whisper tried to placate her master. Before I could even knock the light turned on and Pam opened the door.

I must have been a sight. My hair a tangled wet mess, dripping all over the linoleum floor. I was drenched from head to toe wearing a large gray sweatshirt that was weighed down by rain. My shoes were probably ruined from water damage. My face was white from the cold and my eyes red from my recent battle with emotions. Pam was as shocked as a vampire could look. "Caroline?" At least she remembered my name. "What happened to you?"

"Hitchhiking didn't work out", I commented ruefully. Not many people drive down the parish road, especially not at this time of night. Pam chuckled slightly then turned her head back inside to listen to Eric say something.

"Eric wishes you to come in. I imagine you have quite a story to tell." She looked excited by the prospect of something that was not routine. Honestly, Pam was just like a spontaneous teenager. Now it was my turn to giggle silently.

I was lead into the center of the office. Eric Northman sat behind a large wooden desk with his fingers interlaced, elbows propped up. His expression matched that of his child, however he looked more agitated than ever. I could tell I had interrupted a serious discussion between Eric and Pam.

"I'm sorry Mr. Northman to disturb your business, but I have come to ask you a favor."

He tensed, repositioning his shoulders and set his blue eyes on me again, "Aren't you the one who owes me Miss?"

My face reddened with the realization of my own ineptitude. "Yes, it does seem that I am already in your debt. However, I believe my request is reasonable and profits you as well sir." I took a deep breath before continuing, "I wish to work as a waitress or whatever job you require me for, in return for a place to sleep."

He said nothing. It was disconcerting to me so I nervously continued, "It wouldn't be for that long, maybe a month or two until I could afford to pay for my own place. I'm prepared to work hard for my keep sir."

"Why should I allow this when I would have had the same bargain with you without the board. That's simply an extra stipulation to our contract Miss Fields. I don't see how I benefit from this at all."

"You should allow it because you know how to show mercy."

"Indeed, you have witnessed my mercy before. You may be beginning to think I'm some sort of pushover, but believe me I don't enjoy playing games or being used or lied to."

"I'm not using you. I honestly have no where else to go. My family is a bunch of lying hypocrites and I never wish to see them again. I intend to work relentlessly to your satisfaction. I also am willing to do anything to be able to stay here."

"What happened to your Christian morals?"

"How can I believe in morals taught to me by people who don't believe in me?" That may have sounded harsh, but at the moment I really did have nothing to believe in except that I had to convince Mr. January to keep me on. "Please, Eri—Mr. Northman, at least give me a two week trial run?" I was desperately looking for any job, even though I had never heard of interning for vampires, it seemed to make sense.

He lightened up at that. If he didn't have the obligation of keeping me around that made his undead life easier. He paused, looked from me to Pam and said, "Go out to the bar and wait there. Pam and I have something to discuss. I will consider your proposal."

I straightened up at that. This was business. I bowed my head and slowly walked backwards towards the office door. I couldn't tell whether he would say yes or no. I had to repay him and that meant that I was already expected to do something involved with vampires.

Eric shifted in his high-backed chair as Caroline left. He switched his eyes to his child and said, "Pam I do believe we have a stray on our hands. The question is if we take care of the mutt whether she'll bite us in the end."

Pam was shocked. Why would Eric want to take in a shifter? Was Sookie Stackhouse making him go soft? "With all due respect Master, why would we take her in? We don't have a place for her to sleep."

Eric retorted, "She can stay with you Pam. We will take her in because there's no reason we shouldn't. And in the end she will be even more indebted to me. I enjoy when I have favors spread around. Maybe now she's a pup, but later on she may know a way that she can repay me."

"Yes Master." Pam was not happy about this. It was one thing to have the Were taken in, but for her to stay at Pam's house was just mortifying. The whelp would never leave. Pam would have to be like a mother. Hah! Pam chuckled to herself. She was certainly not the mothering type. She knew this from her past children. She enjoyed her independence too much and kids just put a cramp in her style.

Eric noticed Pam's demeanor. "Pam, you've been living in Louisiana for awhile. It's about time you start to practice hospitality." He laughed deeply as Pam's face changed from indignant to unbelieving.

"Send her in would you?"

Pam walked towards me with a scowl. "Eric wants to see you." She said nothing more and then turned around to yell at one of the waitresses. I walked slowly towards the door, the light had been kept on for my benefit. Mr. January is such a sweetheart. This time when I entered his office I took a few moments to look around. On the back of the door there were stickers and posters of the famous undead. There was one that said "Elvis Lives On" that I didn't understand. At that very moment I imagined Eric dressed up like Elvis and that certainly brightened my mood. I plastered on a smile over my worries and entered the office a second time. He was now seated on the leather sofa and motioned me to sit next to him. He was no doubt about to start some long winded speech about how he could not possibly keep me around. Well maybe it wouldn't be so long. The fact that he had spent this much time on me was a surprise.

He hadn't gotten two words out before a gorgeous blond woman rushed through the door. She was a wreck emotionally, and she rivaled my unkempt appearance. She was wearing a hoodie with a zipper and jeans and black Nikes. Her blue eyes were blotched red from crying and Eric's head snapped straight up as soon as he saw her, his mouth opening slightly and fangs descending. Well that was certainly an unexpected reaction from Eric. Was she friend or foe then? I became instantly riveted yet I kept quiet. The poor woman looked like she needed to say something. And she did. She was angry.

"Eric why the hell did you send Bill to Wisconsin? Don't tell me it was because of the database 'cuz I can see straight through your bullshit!"

"Sookie, there have been rumors of a takeover of Wisconsin and they wanted one of the Louisiana vampires to ensure that we are standing by the current regime. Bill was the obvious choice due to his skills talking to dignitaries."

"Couldn't you send somebody else? He just got back from New Orleans. If I didn't know better I would say you were trying to keep him away from me."

Eric remembered that I was sitting next to him and finally took the opportunity to change the subject, "Sookie, I'd like you to meet Miss Caroline Fields. She is looking for work here but I don't think there are any positions available. Would Merlotte's need a new waitress by any chance? She's just a stray and I don't have a place to keep her, not to mention food for her. She looks half starved."

My mind turned through this new information. He said that there were plenty of waitress jobs available here. Why was he trying to dump me into the hands of this woman? I spoke up, "It's alright Miss, I don't want to bother anybody else with my problems." I started to sniffle and I was holding back tears. Nobody wanted anything to do with me it seemed. For a split second I thought I saw the vamp smirk.

"No honey, don't you be sorry for something you can't help. You're obviously having some hard times and Eric is right. You can't stay here. Why don't you come stay with me? I can check and see tomorrow if there is a job for you at Merlotte's. You need a place to sleep and I need some company while Bill is gone. What d'ya say?"

I couldn't believe my luck. This girl was the kindest soul I'd ever met. I felt sorry that she had gotten mixed up with vampires. We were obviously in the same situation. I was surprised that Eric would be nice enough to let me live with her without me doing anything for him. I guessed that this meant I owed him even more. I realized that the blond was still waiting for my answer and brought my head up and smiled, "That sounds great Miss Sookie. I'd love to come live with you!"

**A/N: I would love to give a shout out to my beta Shigyrl. Thank you for all your help in getting this story ready for . **

**I hope that you all have been enjoying the story so far. I like having contests so if you can tell me what number between 1 and 20 I'm thinking of, I'll write you your own fic with whatever characters from the Sookieverse you want. I enjoy the challenge and I hope you enjoy the outcome. Good luck to you all!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sookie headed out of Fangtasia waving goodbye to Pam whose expression deeply resembled relief. The rain had stopped outside and left the street shining like glass. The air was a bit warmer now and droplets of mist touched her cheeks as she walked silently towards her car, regarding her new companion. As if Caroline knew that Sookie's attention was on her she spoke up, "Is that Corvette yours?" Sookie looked up to see that her car was hidden by the 'vette at this angle. She smirked and retorted, "Naw, that's Eric's. I wouldn't be able to afford one of those if I saved up for ten years, and even I did I wouldn't know what to do with it." Eric drove that car like a bat out of hell. She might have an old car, but it was reliable to a point and she was used to it. Besides, she would never let Bill buy her a new car, for the sake of her pride, and she made sure that he didn't know she wanted one. She was not a kept woman and she wouldn't be thought of as one.

After they had walked a few paces, Caroline spotted the Nova and was thoroughly surprised. What was Sookie employed as? Just as she thought this Sookie chimed in, "I work at Merlotte's as a waitress. I'm glad that Eric sent you. It's getting kind of hectic since one of the waitresses had a baby". How the heck did this gorgeous blond end up associated with vampires if she worked as a barmaid?

Sookie was also wondering how Caroline had known Eric. She was curious, but she didn't want to pry too much since she seemed awfully depressed and tired. Maybe another time once she was settled? Sookie, out of extreme curiosity let down her mental shields to see if she could pick something up. She could tell from the fuzzy mental signature that the girl was two-natured, and that brought up another question. Why would Caroline, obviously some type of were, go to a vamp bar? The different types of Supes would fight like cats and dogs. Even Bill and Sam weren't that fond of each other.

They were almost ready to turn onto Hummingbird Road when Caroline was the first to give in and ask, "So how do you know Mr. January?" Sookie almost swerved off the road from the laughter that erupted from her. She was in tears. This girl apparently had a sense of humor and that made Sookie like her even more. Sookie composed herself, getting her giggles back under control.

"He's kind of my boyfriend's boss", _and my ex-lover _her conscience added. Sookie was glad that the car was dark because she was blushing thinking of the shower they had together back when Eric didn't have his memory. She still hadn't told him what had happened and she wouldn't because he was back to pragmatic Eric. He wasn't the Eric that she had made love with and Sookie was just going to have to accept that. Besides, she was back with Bill now, and getting Eric involved would not do any good so she just kept her big mouth shut.

Now that Caroline had asked it was only natural that Sookie could too, "And what about you? You're kind of young to be hanging around with vamps." It might have sounded too inquisitive, but it was obvious that this girl wasn't a day over eighteen by Sookie's estimate. "My mom and dad died and I didn't have a place to go so I went to Fangtasia trying to find some way to support myself." Sookie stifled a gasp. She knew exactly what it was like to lose your parents, but she couldn't imagine what would have happened to her if she didn't have Gran and Jason to raise her. This girl obviously had nobody else and it made Sookie even more determined to see that she be taken care of.

"Honey, you don't worry about a thing." Sookie was trying to sound reassuring and caring, "I'll take care of getting you a job and you can stay at my house as long as you like. I need some company anyways."

Caroline felt terrible lying to Sookie, but if she knew that her parents were alive she would probably try to make her go back. In some ways it wasn't a lie. Her parents were dead. The image of the parents who raised her was destroyed by Weres. It was kind of how in Star Wars Kenobi said that Darth Vader killed Luke's father. It wasn't a full truth, but she wasn't going to live with traitors. Also this new life seemed exciting to her. She wouldn't have to go to school, she'd be treated like an adult, and she would never have to face her past again.

As they drove up Hummingbird Road Caroline marveled at the woods that encompassed the road. They were beautifully wild, serenely quiet. Her eyes glanced upwards to see what looked like an old Southern style farmhouse, except it had obviously been added onto and there was a screened porch to keep the bugs out. Sookie jumped out of the car, excited to be having company and something to get her mind off Bill while he was gone. "Are you hungry sweetie? I can make you a quick sandwich. We've got all the fixings for a salad too."

Caroline's stomach growled deeply, "A sandwich sounds good." At this point anything sounded good, even tofu would be alright, anything to squelch the roaring in pit of her stomach. The jelly beans were obviously not enough. Sookie unlocked the door and flipped the light on. Caroline marveled at the quaint living room, full of furniture that looked comfy and functional as opposed to the sleek and uncomfortable leather sofa she had been sitting on in Eric's office. Not forgetting her manners, Caroline turned to Sookie and said, "You have a lovely home Miss Sookie." Sookie smiled and acted the part of the gracious hostess. They wandered into the kitchen where Sookie asked what type of sandwich Caroline would prefer. Caroline was hungry for anything, but the warm familiar taste of a PB&J was what she especially desired. She told Sookie and as she looked around anxiously through her pantry, Sookie remembered that she had left the bread and jelly at Bill's house since that was usually what she prepared herself in the morning when she was too lazy to go home for breakfast. Oops.

"Hey Caroline?"

"Yeah Sookie?"

"Would you be alright here if I left to go get something from Bill's house? It's just across the cemetery and I need to go there 'cause I forgot the bread and jelly."

"Sure, I'll be fine Miss Sookie. Are you sure you don't want some company going over there?"

Sookie pondered that. She didn't want to seem rude, but she didn't know how Bill would feel about somebody being over at his house when he wasn't there, especially if that somebody was a Were. Besides, she had to get some of her personal stuff out of there as well for the laundry and that might be a little awkward in front of a stranger. "No, I'll be just fine. You make yourself at home and I'll be back in a jiffy."

She was out the door before Caroline could even reply. The emptiness of the house instantly was palpable and to relieve her boredom Caroline looked at some of the pictures on Sookie's mantel. There was one of blond guy in his twenties probably, next to an older woman with silvery gray hair and a kind and wise look to her. Sookie was in between them with the biggest smile on her face. She could only assume that these were members of Sookie's family and from the looks of the background it was somebody's birthday. She paused to think of her own family and averted her eyes from the picture. She would never see her family again. Even though they had betrayed her, that still didn't mean that she didn't miss them.

The phone rang and not sure of what to do, Caroline answered, "Hello?"

A dark, husky voice responded."Sookie?" He had a bit of an accent. Where had she heard that voice before?

"No, this is Caroline. Sookie's out right now. Do you want to leave a message?"

"Caroline, this is Eric Northman. I wanted to call to make sure that you girls got home alright." He paused for a second and then added, "The roads were wet."

"Yes, we're fine. Sookie just ran over to Bill's to get something."

"I wanted to thank her for taking you in. It's good that you'll be with her though. She's been upset lately since the whole incident with Bill."

"Why. What happened?" She was genuinely concerned.

"I really shouldn't tell you this, but she found out a couple of months ago that he cheated on her and they never really worked it out. He had to leave before they could talk about it."

"That's awful!"

"Yes, but please don't tell her I told you. You probably shouldn't mention it at all. It will probably only upset her. Whatever you do, don't mention Lorena to her."

"Who's Lorena?" This was intriguing.

"I've already said too much. Just promise me that you won't say a thing."

"I promise. I wouldn't want to upset Sookie. She's such a nice person."

"Yes she is. Thank you Caroline. I'll call back later in the week to check up on you two. Good night."

And he hung up. Goodnight Mr. January.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you to the few people who have reviewed on this piece. You rock my socks. To those of you who have read part of this story on the wiki forum, I promise more is coming- I'm making corrections on some of the chapters so hang in there! Without further ado...

Chapter 6

Caroline's dreams that night were as dark and bleak as her current circumstances. She was on the road again staring down at hers sneakers as they squished through puddles of mud. She watched as the rain on the asphalt started to reflect a bright red light. She looked up to see Fangtasia once more and chuckled. It seemed funny to her that such a place that was run by the denizens of death would bring such hope to her. She was almost to the door when a high-pitched scream rang out through the night. Without knowing why, Caroline started running towards the screams. They seemed familiar. She ran in earnest down that same dark road, plummeting into total darkness once more. The screams became louder and she sprinted like she was going for a home run. Sweat cascaded down her body and the sound of her shoes set the pace as she ran towards danger.

The screams intensified once more before taking on a higher pitch. The sound didn't stop, but it seemed to get further away. She tried to continue running towards it, but her eyes flew open and she found herself in an unfamiliar room. The nice cotton sheets were twisted around her and she quickly kicked them to the bottom of the bed. The room obviously belonged to a girl. It had light pink wallpaper and rest of the room was decorated in cream and rose. Just as her pulse returned to normal, the same high-pitched sound came again. Caroline jumped out of bed in an attempt to make a run for it and landed face down on the cool wooden floor with her feet still wrapped in the sheets.

"Owww. What the hell was that?" She rubbed her forehead and cleared the sleep from her eyes. When the sound came again she finally recognized that it was coming from the direction of the kitchen. She looked around sheepishly hoping that nobody had witnessed her spaz attack. No luck there. Sookie stood with her head peeking through the cracked door with a mixture of concern and bemusement written on her face.

"Good morning Caroline. Would you like some breakfast?", Sookie said sweetly, keeping a cheerful countenance as always.

"Yes please, Miss Sookie." Caroline had already untangled herself and was standing as if nothing had happened. It reminded Sookie of what her cat Tina used to do when she ran into furniture. A little pain sliced through her briefly enough to take her breath away, but she recovered to resume her hostess mode.

"How do you take your coffee?"

"With lots of sugar." They walked out through the living room to the kitchen, where Sookie motioned to a seat close to the window.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to show you around the house last night. As soon as I got back from Bill's I found you passed out on the couch. Poor thing. You must have been exhausted." Sookie had quite a time picking up Caroline to get her off the couch and under the covers. She couldn't have done it without her previous ingestion of vampire blood weeks before.

"A little." It was a large understatement when considering how far she had run last night.

"Well some breakfast ought to perk you up real good."

Caroline stared in wonderment at the assortment of food on the table. Light and fluffy eggs, crisp bacon, fresh biscuits with steam billowing softly away in the light of the morning. Well it wasn't quite morning. Sookie didn't even wake up until noon intending to sleep in when she realized she had a guest to attend to. Caroline thought briefly about her mom and how she would never do her own cooking. Even though she was Southern she was a horrible cook and her family usually ended up eating TV dinners or her dad's attempts at cooking. It was always a fun show to watch her father, flustered, looking aimlessly at the cook book to the perfect picture presented and then glancing back at his work and pulling out his hair. It was fun to watch but never fun to eat.

Life with Ms. Stackhouse looked just peachy keen. Although Caroline hadn't really gotten to know Sookie that well, she could tell she was a nice person, but it just made her question even more as to how this little Southern belle cooking her breakfast had gotten involved with vampires.

"I met Bill when he moved here and we hit it off." Sookie was cleaning up breakfast and absent mindedly had let her guard down. Caroline stared wide-eyed at Sookie. Did that just happen? Did Sookie just answer my question? OK. Best not to comment or be rude. Just make polite conversation.

"He's a vampire? How did you two meet then?" Sookie started to relax. Maybe Caroline hadn't noticed.

"Well it was a couple of years after vamps had 'come out of the coffin' and he came into Merlottes- the bar I work at- he was one of my customers."

"Did he ask you out right off the bat?"

"No, not exactly. We got to know each other a little bit first. It was a little weird to get used to at first, the whole vampire thing, but I'm used to it now." Sookie conveniently left out any mention of saving Bill from vampire drainers or almost getting strangled to death by that Jerry guy. Caroline had been through enough. She didn't need any more terrifying things to think about. One step at a time.

_Should I ask her? She probably doesn't want to think about it if it's true. She's been so sweet. I don't want to pry, but was he right? Did Bill cheat on Sookie?_

Caroline's thoughts coursed rapidly, bringing back painful memories for Sookie of the night that she had killed Bill's vampire maker ho, Lorena. She slammed down her coffee mug and took a deep breath. She was usually so good at keeping her poker face on, but this was just too personal for her to keep her emergency smile in place. She was about to break down again. She wasn't going to do it in front of Caroline.

"Hey Caroline sweetie. I'm going to go to the store to get some groceries and then probably over to the bar to ask my boss Sam whether he has a job for you. Will you be OK by yourself for a couple of hours?" She rapidly thought of errands that would get her out of earshot of Caroline.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Is there anything you need me to do? I'd be glad to clean up. I need to earn my room and board somehow."

"Well that's up to you darling. I sure would appreciate it. Also if you get bored the remote is on the kitchen counter next to the phone". Sookie grabbed her keys, said goodbye, and rushed out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Driving helped Sookie take charge of her emotions that were so freshly renewed. Like a band-aid pulled of too soon, tearing open the wound again. She thought of what she needed to do on her trip. First stop. Merlotte's.

It was the slow time in between lunch and dinner so Sam was available to chat. He lead them to his office where he offered her a seat and sat himself across from her.

"What can I do for you, cher?" Sookie smiled at the term of endearment. Sam was a great boss and overall nice guy.

"I wanted to ask you if there's still a waitress position still open?" She looked hopeful.

"Well sure. You got somebody in mind?"

"Well that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Sookie prepared herself. Sam was probably not going to like this.

"I went to Fangtasia last night and Eric asked me if I could help this girl," she barely got a word out.

"Eric Northman asked you? Why the hell would he do that? Don't tell me that it's out of the goodness of his heart Sookie"

"Sam this poor girl just lost her parents. She hasn't got anybody. She came to Fangtasia looking for a job, but Eric didn't have one."

"So he pawned her off on you? When are you going to stop letting those vamps take advantage of you Sookie? They're nothing but trouble. You know that."

"Sam. That's not the point right now. I'm asking if Caroline can work here."

"You said she lost her parents. Exactly how old is she?"

"Seventeen."

"Sookie you know I can't have a minor waiting tables in my bar."

"I'll do shifts with her and handle all the drink orders. It won't be a problem. Please Sam. I don't know what else to do. My heart goes out to the poor girl, losing her parents so young. Somebody's got to keep an eye on her. She doesn't have anybody else."

"Goddamn it Sookie." he whispered under his breath. "She doesn't work a shift without somebody with her. You got to talk to Arlene and see if she's willing to help her out too."

That prospect did not make Sookie happy. Arlene had recently become a member of the Fellowship of the Sun and truly believed that Sookie was nothing more than a _vamp whore_.

"Fine I'll talk to her after my shift tonight. Thank you Sam." She got out of her chair and hugged him, met with the onslaught of his emotions running through his head. _I understand that Sookie feels __sympathy for the poor kid. Why did Eric Northman send her Sookie's way though? Something ain't right there. He's always self-serving. What's he playing at?_

Sookie headed out the door. She had to get groceries and then get home. She didn't want to leave Caroline alone in the house for too long. It's not that she didn't trust her, it's just that she knew the girl would need some emotional support to help her get on her feet. Sookie quickly got some milk, flour, eggs, grits, bacon and vegetables, then sped home to tell Caroline the good news.

The sun had set and as Sookie got out of the car a wave of sadness hit her. Something wasn't right. No lights were on in the house. It was dark and eerie and she could hear Caroline scream inside her head. She unlocked the door. She could hear the news broadcaster. Sookie rushed to the living room to find Caroline a sobbing heap on the floor.

She carefully knelt down next to Caroline, watching her tears fall onto the hardwood floor.

"No, no, no" She shook her head in terror. Sookie tried to calm her.

"Sweetie is this about your parents?"

Caroline furiously shook her head trying to steady her breathing. She pointed to the television while shielding her eyes and whimpering the name.

"Randy"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sookie looked at the television screen into the eyes of a female reporter sharing some breaking news."This morning the body of a young teenager was found on the side of the parish road in Shreveport. The victim's name was Randy Stevens, a seventeen year old male whose body was maliciously eviscerated. The coroner's report believes that he died of blood loss. Since his body was found only a few miles from the vampire bar, Fangtasia, police believe that there was vampire involvement in this gruesome murder."

Sookie frantically grabbed the remote and turned the television off.

_Those vamps have already taken my brother away from me. Now they've taken away Randy? Why? I should have known something had happened when she said he wasn't at school. I thought he might have just found a willing vamp to have sex with. I hope that it was good sex because it ended up being his last..._

Sookie tried to calm her own thoughts. She bent down and hugged Caroline, who sobbed uncontrollably on Sookie's shoulder.

_What am I thinking? Randy wouldn't have actually gone through with it. He's too shy. Goddamn it. I hope I don't die a virgin. It sure as hell won't be with a vamp._

"Caroline honey, how did you know that boy?" Sookie was trying to focus Caroline on Randy so she could glean information on who he was. She saw it all. The night that Randy agreed to take Caroline to Fangtasia and the conversation Caroline had had over the phone about his absence from with a few memories from Caroline's childhood of her and Randy sitting on a porch swing together, eating strawberries, getting the juice all over their faces. Randy was carefree smiling, then the image became dark and morphed into the bloodied face of Randy Stevens in his final moments. A high pitch scream resonated and brought Sookie back to reality.

She picked Caroline off the floor and helped her onto the couch where she fell over on her side and curled up into a ball, still crying and shaking like a leaf.

_It's all my fault. I saw it all happen in my dream, I heard the scream. I didn't want to believe it was real. I should have told somebody. It's all my fault. I could have saved him._

"No sweetie, this isn't your fault. Just 'cause you saw him in your dream doesn't mean that you could do anything about it."

Caroline sat up. "What did you say?" Sookie looked down at the floor. She had slipped up again. Shit. The poor girl was going through enough. Would she be afraid of Sookie and try to leave if she told her? No. She wasn't going anywhere. She had nowhere to go to.

"I said it wasn't your fault. You can't blame yourself."

"I convinced him to go to Fangtasia with me".

"I know sweetie. You asked him if he wanted to score with a vampire and he seemed pretty excited about it."

"How do you know that?"

"Well I know this is going to sound downright crazy, but you've got to trust me Caroline. Promise me you won't get scared?"

Caroline hesitantly whispered, "OK"

"Sweetie, I'm telepathic. I can hear people's thoughts including yours."

"What? Really? You're serious?"

"Yes" Sookie cringed. She should have told her sooner. I wanted her to get used to me first before I sprung something like this on her.

"Well what am I thinking now?"

_Um what should I think about? OK how about a fact? Caroline is actually my middle name._

"So what's your first name?"

"Woah! That's weird. You CAN read minds. Well Virginia is actually my first name. My parents named me after the states they each grew up in." She said it all with a smile until she mentioned her parents then her smile vanished and her mind closed off turning back into the snarling tangled thoughts of a were.

"Virginia's a nice name. Why didn't you stick with that?"

"I don't know I guess I just liked Caroline better."

Sookie helped Caroline relax, made her some more coffee and then proceeded to call the only person who could help her find out what was going on.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Sookie, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Eric. I don't have time to chat."

"That's unfortunate." He was acting very calm. He was always in control and when he wasn't, he knew who to take care of to fix it.

"Please tell me you already know about what happened outside your bar."

"What?" He seemed concerned now that her problem had something to do with his income.

"Do you not watch the news at all?"

"Not unless it has something to do with me or vampires in general. Why do you ask Sookie?"

"Well I got home today and the news said somebody's body was found close to your bar. The police think the vampires had something to do with it."

"I wouldn't worry about it Sookie. It happens all the time. Somebody just got sloppy and decided not to clean up after themselves. Although I must say I'm touched that you called to warn me. That was very sweet of you Sookie." Goddamn it he was so full of himself! He was obviously amused at this point and Sookie thought she could hear Pam chuckling in the background.

"Eric, I'm going to pretend you did not just say that. Don't you have any shame? Also, wipe that smug look off your face. I did not call because of you. I'm calling because apparently the body was a friend of Caroline's." Eric at first didn't recognize the name. Again Pam interjected "The Were girl"

"Oh yes, how is Caroline?"

"She's not doing so great since her friend just died, Eric. What type of question is that to ask?"

"I was merely trying to be polite in showing concern for your friend Sookie."

"Quit being sarcastic and tell me what you're going to do to help me."

"To look for whoever killed your friend? Why should I help you?" He was still being the big boss vamp. Pam was still in the room and he didn't need her teasing him for helping a human. He would not come at her beck and call like a lowly servant. God knows what Compton submitted to on a daily basis.

If she wanted his help, she would have to repay him some way.

"Eric, I called to ask you for help because I know that you CAN help me. I know I'm just a lowly human to you, but I'm in no mood to be treated as such. You either help me or I'll find someone who will." Was she giving him an ultimatum? "Or better yet, I'll go get information myself"

"I would prefer you not. That would be an unwise decision Sookie. Whoever killed your friend would most certainly have no qualms about dispatching you as well."

"Why not?"

"You are a valuable asset and I do not need you getting yourself killed Sookie."

"I'm a valuable ASSET? That's the best excuse you could come up with?"

"I know Compton betrayed you and you're still dealing with it, but that is no reason to act like a willful child."

"Don't you dare mention Bill to me like he's an excuse for why I'm angry with you right now."

"Well isn't he?"

"That's it. I don't know why I even called if all you're going to do is sit on your ass and patronize me. I won't make the same mistake again. Goodbye Mr. Northman."

Well that was useless. Why did he have to be such an ass? Who to call next?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sookie paused and pondered her situation. She thought of the people who would be willing to help her and who would have the abilities to do something about her present circumstances. Sadly, the only individuals who could help her were all past boyfriends or flings.

She could call Alcide Herveaux who owed her a favor since she was a friend of the pack of Shreveport. He would have the trackers available who would be able to determine at least the species of the culprit. He was still a little uncomfortable around her since he knew that she had shot his ex-girlfriend, out of self defense. He had dumped Debbie before the incident and had even abjured her, but he still cared for the bitch. Pun intended. It would just be awkward and she didn't really know what he'd be able to do since it was in the hands of the police now.

Wait. That's right. Since the police were on the case there's really nothing that she could do and nobody who could help her. Even if somebody could, they wouldn't have access to the body or the crime scene. She felt helpless and alone.

She wished desperately that Bill were here. He would give her at least some advice as to who to contact. He would help her. He wouldn't just leave her hanging like Eric did.

It hurt her deeply that she had mind blowing sex with Eric and he remembered none of it. He just acted like an ass around her now, though deep down Sookie wondered if he was just as frustrated as she was. Neither one of them would be able to admit any sort of affection to the other. Sookie wouldn't let somebody have that sort of control over her again. She'd had her trust abused for the last time. Bill had seen to that.

Come to think of it, why did she let Bill back into her life at all? She saw him for a couple of weeks and before he could ever explain himself she would always run away or change the topic, usually to sex. She was using his body to forget the pain that he had inflicted on her. She felt the seeping heat of indignation fill her up. Why should it matter? He owed her for the betrayal. He owed her with his life. She paused once more. No, if she didn't want a relationship with him anymore, then she shouldn't be using him for sex. It was just cruel to lead him on when she knew deep down she could never really forgive him.

They were fuck buddies plain and simple, though she wished it could be different. How could it have all gone so wrong?

Sookie sunk to the floor of her bedroom. If these thoughts were true, then she couldn't let this go on. Forgetting about the murder mystery for the mean time, she plucked her cell phone off her bed and started to dial Bill's number.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Sorry for my goof with posting chapters twice. Thank you jdcoke and aurora151989 for pointing out my mistake to me. Here's the rest of the story that I have written so far. Hope you enjoy it.

Eric was furious. How dare she hang up on him? He told her the truth and he got insulted by a mere human? Maybe she was so used to lies that Sookie couldn't stand the truth? He chuckled at that. Why was this mortal woman driving him insane? It was dangerous to continue not knowing or remembering his time with her. He had lived over a thousand years and remembered every second of his undead existence, but those two weeks were all a haze. He felt something was different, but he couldn't place it. He was so irritable that he verbally abused any fangbanger within a 3 foot radius and sent them all packing. Pam kept saying he was bad for business.

Even worse was the upcoming gathering in Rhodes. He would need to have his wits about him when he traveled with the queen and her party. Sookie would be expected to come along as well, which made him happy and nervous at the same time. He would be expected to protect her and see to her needs. He could simply delegate the task to Pam, but she would not be happy about being expected to wait on a human on hand and foot. Feet. Feet. Wait. He closed his eyes and a cloudy vision started to take shape.

He was staring down at his feet. He was sitting in the middle of a kitchen. His whole body trembled. He was scared. His fangs were still down. He was wearing a red bikini bottom? What the hell? He looked around a bit more and recognized the floral print on walls. This was Sookie's house. Just as he came to that realization he looked down to see Sookie washing his feet in a basin of hot water. She looked positively angelic with strands of her hair coming out of her ponytail, framing her face. She was still in her work clothes. She must have just finished with work. She carefully cleaned all the dirt, blood, and sticks from his feet, softly humming to herself. Her gentle touch brought peace to him. He closed his eyes and heard her say "Eric, Eric, what do you want me to do about these dossiers?"

He opened his eyes to find himself still in his office looking at Pam, who was obviously flustered and annoyed. "Just set them on my desk. I'll take care of them. Thank you Pam." She stared confusedly at her master. "Well something has definitely put you in a good mood master."

He didn't respond. A piece of the puzzle had just fallen into place and yet even more questions persisted in his mind. Why had Sookie taken care of him? It wasn't for money he was sure of that now. Was it an obligation she felt towards him? No, Sookie openly despised everything about vampire politics. Eric, on the other hand had come to understand all interactions as some sort of power play in his world. Everybody had their own motives to kissing his ass, but the memory was not of some cold, unfeeling reciprocation. There was a gentle warmth in her eyes that would have made his heart skip a beat if it could. She had looked into his eyes as if she actually _cared_ about him. Was it possible that he did too?

He could feel a crack in his exterior facade where somebody had chipped away at his defenses. He pondered as to why he had never noticed it before. He imagined a bright light that emanated from the crack. Some sort of feeling resided underneath that he dare not name for the impact it would have on him. He quickly patched up the hole with the reason that the light inside could only serve as a weakness in his world. Something that made him feel this warm could only be too good to be true. There must be some other reason for her meddling and he would find out soon what Sookie Stackhouse wanted from him. He sat back in his chair and began to ruminate on how he could discover her intentions.

Meanwhile...

Sookie fumbled with her cell phone with shaky hands as she punched in Bill's number in Wisconsin. As it rang she had the immediate desire that it would just go to voicemail so she could avoid this talk. No such luck. It rang three times before she heard him pick up and say, "Hello?"

She froze. His voice was wonderful at the other end. She hadn't heard from him for a week now and his Southern drawl seemed like water to a man in the middle of a desert. She needed him. Didn't she? How could she go through with this? How could she push away the only man she had ever loved?

"Hello?" he asked again.

She reassured herself it was for both of their sakes. They would both be sad for a while, but then they would be alright. They shouldn't have gotten back together in the first place. It was nice while it lasted, but she shouldn't try to drag out something that wouldn't work in the end. She would never really forgive him for the hurt he had caused. Deep down she knew that. It was time to burn the bridge and find a detour.

"Hello?" He was obviously getting impatient listening to her breathing on the other side.

"Bill?" she almost whispered, trying to keep her breathing in check.

"Sookie? Is something wrong? You sound sad and quiet."

How could she possibly explain everything that was wrong? Tell him all about Caroline and her friend's murder, and Eric's resumed policy of being an ass and refusing to help at all.

"No, everything is fine here", she piped up, "just wondering what you were up to."

"Well I'm still here to negotiate some treaties between Wisconsin and Nebraska. They've been at each other's throats for awhile now. I should be back in Bon Temps within two weeks"

"That's great to hear Bill" Oh crap should she just wait to have this conversation in two weeks? No, she wouldn't keep up the charade any longer. She needed to tell Bill the truth. He deserved that much even though he wasn't so forthcoming in telling her the truth.

"Bill, we need to talk." She tried to keep calm and composed. Her head and heart raced contemplating how to convey her inner most thoughts.

"Of course, Sookie. What did you want to talk about?"

"Us"

"What about us?" She could hear a distinct change in his tone that made him sound almost defensive about the subject.

"Well we've been back together for two weeks now. It was a wonderful two weeks before Eric had to send you away."

"Is this about Eric? What has he done?"

"No this is not about Eric Northman" she snapped, "Could you have a little more faith in me than that?"

"I trust you entirely sweetheart. It's my sheriff whose motives I don't trust. He seemed to wish me to get as far away from you as possible.

"

"Bill, I can handle myself around Mr. Eric Northman" she said reassuringly. Couldn't she? That question made her take a deep breath as she focused again on the task at hand. "I want to talk about us. Can you do me a favor Bill, honey?"

"Yes"

"I need you to just listen. Please. I need to tell you something, and it's kind of hard to say, without interruptions."

"Alright"

"I got back together with you because I know that, despite what happened between you and Lorena, we both still love each other. I thought that maybe I would find some way to forgive you and move on. That we would make it work. It was a nice two weeks. I thought maybe we had resolved most of our issues, but I've come to an unavoidable truth that I can't ignore any longer."

"Yes?" He sounded beaten yet hopeful.

"I can't forgive you for what you did. I've tried to make it work, but I know deep down that I'll never be able to fully trust you again. After all the men who have betrayed my trust, I just need somebody who puts me first above all others. Maybe that's selfish of me and maybe it's just wishful thinking that I'll ever find someone like that, but I've decided that's what I want. I can't go on with our relationship any longer, Bill. It's not fair to either of us, trying to pretend there's nothing wrong. I won't do it. I can't."

"Sookie. Please don't do this. Can't we wait to have this talk in person when I get back?"

"Why? I would just say the same things and you would still feel just as hurt. I can't change that. It's time to move on Bill. Unlike you I don't have eternity to find the man of my dreams. I just have to get out and find out for myself exactly what I want. I really want to thank you for all the first-times I've had with you. They were perfect and I don't want to let these feelings ruin those good memories."

"Then your mind is settled?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"I love you" His words cut into her and made her pause. There was a sad sort of finality in his voice.

"I love you too, Bill. Thank you for understanding and for listening to me. I hope that we can still be friends?"

"Yes, of course. If you ever need anything let me know."

"Thank you, Goodbye Bill."

"Goodbye Sookie."

She snapped her phone shut and pulled herself off the floor onto her bed where she sobbed for awhile, letting herself bobble along a sea of emotion. She had unloaded her burden. She could start off fresh, knowing a bit more of what she wanted, to find a way back into love. To live spontaneously, to enjoy life far from vampire politics. She needed to go somewhere, to just feel the night air on her skin and drift into nothingness for awhile. She would go through the chore of getting her stuff out of Bill's house tomorrow. She picked up her cell again and punched in the number for Merlotte's.

"Hello, Merlotte's. This is Sam speaking."

"Sam. It's Sookie. I'm not coming in for my shift tonight".

"Why not cher?"

"Just personal stuff"

"More vampire shit?"

"No, just boyfriend stuff"

"You want to talk about it later?"

"Maybe. Right now I just need some time with my thoughts"

"OK, cher. Will you be in for the lunch shift tomorrow?"

"Yeah"

"OK, I'll see you then"

"Bye Sam"

"Bye Sookie"

What now? She barely had a moment to contemplate her situation before Caroline knocked on the door.

"Sookie? You OK in there? You've been in there for an hour. You want some company?"

"No Caroline. Hey I'm sorry to be rude, but I've got to go out again"

"Where are you going?"

"Oh I've got to get to work", she lied. Caroline had heard Sookie's conversation before and knew this wasn't the case.

"Can I come with you?"

"No, maybe you can come with me to my lunch shift tomorrow?"

"That sounds cool"

She started to grab up her purse and keys. "OK well there's some groceries for you to make sandwiches with when you get hungry. I'll be home late tonight"

"Alright Sookie. I'll see you in the morning", giving her a sweet smile, and heading towards the kitchen for her dinner.

"Sookie ran out the door and hopped into her brother's truck. Jason had lent her his "baby" since her old Nova was waiting in her driveway until she had enough money to get it repaired. Not sure of where she should drive to, she was on the parish road in minutes driving away from her troubles into the vast and beautiful backdrop of the woods. She was unknowingly driving in the direction of Shreveport where Eric was still sitting at his desk, contemplating what to do about the girl who had gotten under his skin.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Shorty after Sookie drove away from her house a large white van pulled up her driveway. The headlights turned off and the driver paused to make a call.

"Hey boss, what car did you say she drove again?"

"Some shitty Nova. Yellow"

"Well it's parked here in the driveway and there's lights on in the house. Do you want us to go through with the plan?"

"Yeah, bring the bitch in. The vamps will have to pay dearly if they want her back in one piece."

Caroline had just sat down with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when she heard them break down the door. She turned around in time to see the faces of her kidnappers before one quickly silenced her screams by placing a chloroform-soaked towel in front of her mouth.


	13. Chapter 13

Sookie's POV

I drove into the darkness completely uninterrupted from my stream of consciousness. I just couldn't believe it. My first love was out of my life. Bill represented lots of firsts in my life. But sadly, he wasn't the first betrayal. Why is it that all the men in my life let me down? I guess I'm just a sucker, but I can't imagine trying to live my life as a pessimist. There are so many more good things in my life than bad things.

I may not be quite as educated as everybody else and maybe I live in what people believe to be the middle of nowhere, but I know this town. My family's blood runs deep in the soil. I don't think I could ever live anywhere else. Sometimes I daydream about the millions of destinations I could visit, if I ever decided to take a real vacation, but I feel secure where I am.

Maybe that's what was so thrilling about Bill. He was like a window to a whole other world, completely new and exciting. I suppose that's the incentive to associating with any supe. Their world is so different, so unorthodox compared to my puritanical America, that it almost feels sinful. It's forbidden fruit. It's fast-paced and dangerous, sumptuous and sexy. All those thoughts brought me back to one person in particular.

Eric. He was even more reserved than most vampires, hiding his true self behind layers of ego. I had seen the real Eric. I couldn't admit to myself that I had fallen for him, but he remembered nothing. It hurt me, frightened me even, to know that something so perfect could be so easily revoked by Fate. I wanted to help him remember, but it wasn't really fair for either of us I guess; since he would never consent to give up vampire politics for me, and I wouldn't leave my home in Bon Temps for him. Why then was I so intent on trying to win a game I was fated to lose? I imagine it would be how pilots felt about gravity. I wanted to forget about those predefined social norms, about my depressing reality, and launch myself into the air. I wanted to soar.

During my random thoughts my eyes refocused to take in a tiny bright red light in the distance. I had just driven without any destination in mind, but found myself driving to Shreveport. To Eric. Shoot! What the hell was I going to do? I had no reason for visiting him. The last time I had talked to him, I had hung up on him. He was probably pissed at me and I couldn't blame him really. It's in his nature to act like an arrogant ass and I was asking him to act human.

The red neon sign of Fangtasia was becoming clearer, and even though my mind screamed no dammit no, my foot pressed harder on the gas until I was parked, staring at the bright light until it burned my eyes. My hands clutched the steering wheel in earnest, trying to decide what to do. I was at a bar. I could just go in to get a drink. Act casual. Yeah right. If all I wanted was a drink, I could have easily gone to Merlotte's. Still I guess that's the best excuse I could muster up.

A knock on the passenger side window woke me out of my musings. I could tell from the tone of voice that it was Pam, though I still stared uselessly at the neon. I unlocked the door and she slid into the car to sit in the seat next to me.

"Bill called to inform the Sheriff of your recent split."

I couldn't speak. All my thoughts were scurrying around like mice in my head. I was overwhelmed. Nothing seemed to be going right. I wanted to soar, but I kept getting shot down. Pam turned her head to look at me. I simply nodded in response.

"You look like you could use a drink."

I laughed with relief at Pam's straight talk and turned my head to look her in the eyes. She was decked out in leather as usual and her goth makeup made her cold blue eyes pop. I noticed also in one of her hands she was holding a riding crop. I shuddered to think why she would need one, but raised my eyebrow at her prop.

"Lead the way Mistress." Now it was her turn to burst out laughing. She opened my door and held out a hand to help me out of the truck. I pulled my keys out of the ignition, stuffed them in my purse and grabbed hold of Pam's cool, delicate hands. Even though her frame was fragile, the strength behind it as she pulled me out was firm and forceful. With a little more gusto, she could have given me whiplash.

"Jeez, take it easy Pam."

She playfully swatted my ass with the riding crop. The feeling made my nerves tingle, sending shock waves to my core. "Aaaa" Oh crap. That felt kind of... good. Pam smirked like the cat who ate the canary.

"Sookie, did you enjoy that?" I took a large gulp of breath and muttered "no." Even to me it sounded like bullshit.

"Oh you're a terrible liar Sookie. Perhaps I should punish you?" She put quite an emphasis on the word punish. It was scary and sexy all at once. "Or maybe I should let Eric punish you? I imagine that would help work out all that stress." She was doing her best to tease me. The image of Eric hitting my ass with a riding crop, with me bent over his knee popped into my head. I became instantly wet and a small gasp escaped my lips.

"No, Pam. You don't need to do that. I didn't come here for Eric. I came here for a drink."

Pam didn't have any chance to respond to me. A loud, sharp voice interrupted her. It was Eric and he sounded pretty pissed off. She scurried quickly towards the back office where he was pacing back and forth. I figured that since it was probably important vampire business, that I would just wait outside.

"Why didn't you come when I called you?"

"I did Master. I just..."

"No excuses Pam, we've got an emergency on our hands. I received a phone call from the Fellowship of the Sun. They somehow found out about Sookie and they have her. They said I have to exchange myself for her or they'll kill her."

"Master that's not possible."

"Pam, don't argue with me whether it's possible or not."

I decided to make it easy on Pam and walked into the office. "No Eric, I'm right here."

He froze in place. "Sookie" That single word was filled with so much relief, joy, and some stronger, indescribable feeling. His expression switched back to calm, cool and collected. "I'm glad to see that you are not harmed Miss Stackhouse." He was trying to regain his footing in the situation. There was no doubt that I had flustered him.

"Eric, why did you think that the Fellowship had me?"

"They called to say that they had you in the church. They wanted me to trade my life for yours, but obviously they don't have you because you're standing right here."

"But they said they had somebody and they thought was me?"

"It was obviously a lie Sookie." He seemed to be getting irritated with me.

"But Eric, if I'm here, then who do they have now?" Thoughts came rushing to my head. Wait. No, no, no. I rushed past Eric to his desk, grabbing hold of the phone.

"Who are you calling Sookie?"

"Caroline."

A/N: Sorry this update has been a long time coming. I've gotten caught up in writing my other fics and school, but I'm sad that I've kind of neglected this story. It's my first fan-fic so it has a special place in my heart, even though it's not completely centered around Sookie and Eric. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Isn't it nice to see Pam? Now I'm going to try to write on Abducted. I'm going to try to get an update on that story by tomorrow afternoon.

Also, until I finish one of my stories, I'm postponing my Fan Fiction Lotto because I'm getting overwhelmed trying to write other fics along with updating Abducted, ETR and DONB. So probably once this fic is done I'll start writing your own fics again :)


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: My sincerest apologies to all my readers for not posting anything for awhile. I've had severe writers block since all my writing is been used up in school. I'm glad though that during my absence some of you have taken the time to check out my baby DONB. I know most people think it isn't about Sookie or Eric, but it is, it's just their relationship seen from an outsiders POV.

Without further ado...

Chapter 14

Sookie's POV

I held the phone to my ear waiting for somebody to pick up. The harsh ringing of the phone almost drowned out my inside terror. I was responsible for Caroline and I had left her alone because I had to have my little pity party. Why didn't I invite her to come along? We could have gone on a Ben and Jerry's binge together- now that's a party. My body started to tremble; the hand holding the phone shook violently. I stared off into space, my mind racing. Holy shit this cantbehappeningwhatdoIdowhatdoIdo... What do I do?

Eric walked up slowly behind me, and wrestled the receiver out of my hand. It was as if the phone had been my lifeline because when it left my hand, my knees buckled underneath me. I would have fallen on my ass if it hadn't been for Eric's quick thinking. He cradled me to his chest and I started weeping. I buried my face into the crook of his neck as my body was racked by sobs. He sat us both down on his leather couch with me sitting on his lap like a child. At first he was rigid and at a loss as to what he should do. From what I could tell, nothing freaked out Eric more than a crying woman.

Eric's POV

I had just been pondering what to do about little Miss Stackhouse when here she had appeared in my bar. I was silently overjoyed that the anonymous call I received had not been true. I didn't want to concern myself with the Fellowship of the Sun. Sookie was safe. That's all that matters. At least I thought that was it until she started crying in my lap. Her arms wrapped around my neck, her warm tears trickling down my cool skin. At first I was completely rigid because I don't know how to handle crying women, but then I started feeling rigid for another reason. Her breakdown had made her breakout in a sweat and her unique aroma saturated my senses. She was so close to me that there was no way to try to distance myself. Her sobs made her blood pump faster and I could feel my dick start to respond.

Shit. Right now is not the time, unless Sookie wanted to fuck to make herself feel better, but I imagine that would not be the case. I needed to get her off my lap asap. I steeled my nerves to prepare for contact. I lifted her chin up to look at me. When we took in each others eyes, she softly exhaled, bringing her breathing back to normal. My gaze steadied her as she put herself to rights and slid off my lap. I ruefully watched as she wiped away the sweet tears from her face. How I wanted to run my tongue along her cheek What the fuck Northman? Get your ass in gear and do something damn it!

She surprised me when she spoke first.

"I want you to call the Fellowship back and ask them what they want in return for the safe return of Sookie Stackhouse. Arrange a meeting with them next week so I have a chance to gather information. If all goes well, maybe I can get her out in the daytime without any blood spilled."

For a moment I was stunned that she already had a plan. I was not surprised however that it sounded like a suicide mission. When would this woman get it through her head that she's not immortal?

"I will do no such thing. If you think that I'm going to let you infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun again, then you're sadly mistaken. What's to keep somebody from recognizing you? Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried this?"

"That's why you're going to call to assure them that they do have Sookie Stackhouse. If they think she's Sookie, then they won't be looking out for Caroline Fields."

"I'm not going to let you do this Sookie. It's irrational and doomed to failure."

"You can either call them or not. Either way I'm going to go to the church tomorrow."

What the fuck was she thinking? She was just being stubborn because that's all she could do to stop crying. I'm glad that she wasn't weepy anymore, but this Sookie that stood before me with an angry glare in her eyes was going to get both of us killed.

"Dammit Sookie. You are not going to step one foot in that church. Do you hear me?"

"Who the hell do you think you are to order me around like that?"

"You know who I am Sookie. I am Sheriff of my area, who has a thousand years more experience than you when it comes to hostage negotiations."

"Don't you dare patronize me Eric Northman! I'm going to the church tomorrow to find out what's happened to Caroline and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop me!"

Eric's POV

She should have known better than to challenge me. It seemed that she was set on her own destruction and I sure as hell wouldn't let that happen. There had to be a less radical solution to this whole mess and I would just have to find it without Sookie. She was busy purposefully stomping towards my office door. I quickly moved to stand in front of her, startling her a bit. I smiled devilishly at the idea of what I was about to do.

"Oh yes there is." I picked her up before she could blink and hoisted her over my shoulder.

"Eric put me down!"

"You should have known better Sookie. You think I'm going to let you run off to possibly get yourself killed? If you want to help your friend, then the best thing you can do is let somebody else deal with it. You are too emotionally involved and since I can't watch you during the day, I'm going to have to put you on house arrest."

"But my house got broken into Eric."

"I'm happy to hear that you agree with me that your house is not safe Sookie. I'd be more than happy to offer you a place to stay for the next few weeks."

"Eric I couldn't."

"I do owe you for the weeks you let me stay at your house."

"Yes, but-"

"No, Sookie I insist."

One didn't need to be telepathic to sense the confusion and frustration emanating from Sookie. I couldn't explain why I had such an overwhelming desire to protect her, but I was excited at this new development.

I was already considering it all in my head. Sookie would think it improper to sleep in my bed so I would place her in one of the guest bedrooms. I would tell her I needed two weeks to initiate my plan and during that time she would need to stay inside away from the public where somebody could recognize her. I needed to call the shifter to inform him of the circumstances so that if the Fellowship came snooping they would think Sookie was missing. I should also call Herveaux to keep Sookie protected. She won't refuse having a body guard if it's somebody she knows.

"Eric will you stop plotting and put me down? I'm starting to get light headed."

"What makes you think I'm plotting?" I settled her gently down on the floor. She swatted my hands away and set to righting her clothes.

"Because of that damned smirk on your face, and the fact that you're always plotting."

Sookie was about to keep ranting when her stomach growled audibly.

"Have you had dinner Sookie?"

"No."

"What would you like to eat? Perhaps we can get Pam to quit lurking outside my office door and put her to use fetching you some food."

Pam walked in nonchalantly even though her eavesdropping had been discovered. "Did you call for me Eric?"

"Yes Pam I need you to find Sookie some food." I thought of something that would keep her occupied for awhile. "Sookie do you like Thai food?"

"I've never tried it."

"Well tonight's your lucky night Miss Stackhouse. Though I've never eaten it myself, I understand it's delicious. Pam would you please go fetch Sookie some Thai food?" Pam glared at me obviously contemplating revenge of some sort.

"Eric I think you know that the nearest Thai restaurant is an hour away and it probably won't be open by the time I get there."

"Well then you better hurry Pam." I couldn't hold back my smirk. She rolled her eyes and disappeared from the room.

"Eric you didn't need to have Pam go through all that trouble to get me food. I'm sure there's a fast food place close by."

"It's her punishment for eavesdropping on us Sookie. Oh, before we leave I need to make some phone calls. Could you please wait in the bar for me? I won't be long."

She nodded and bent down to retrieve her purse from the couch. Her ass was held high in the air just asking to be squeezed or slapped. I wanted to take her where she stood, holding onto her firm cheeks while I came inside her. Where was all of this imagery coming from? I could barely think of this scenario before Sookie looked up to notice I was ogling her. She stood straight up and fixed her eyes on mine. Her hands fidgeted nervously with the strap of her purse. From her expression I couldn't tell whether she was nervous, scared or excited. She bit her lip while she pondered what to say, then slapped on her fake nervous smile and quickly exited my office.

If all went well it looked like this would be a very eventful two weeks.

A/N: I know not much happened in this chapter, but now Eric has two weeks alone with Sookie in a confined space. It's about to get interesting. Let the games of cat and mouse begin.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review to share any comments or concerns.

Love,

PIP


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I know there's nothing I can say to make up for leaving you all high and dry. I have decided to rectify this situation though and have resolved to give myself a deadline. From now on every Saturday evening or Sunday morning at the latest, I will post a new update to one of my stories. I want to thank you all for waiting so long and sticking with this story.

Without further ado...

Eric's POV

The drive to my home with Sookie was relatively silent. She stared out the window looking like somebody had just killed her cat. In an effort to calm her down before she started crying again, I placed my palm on her knee.

"Caroline is going to fine Sookie. She's a smart girl, a survivor. We're going to get her back safely."

In all honesty, I had no idea whether the girl was really smart or a survivor. She ran to me for help which basically answered both questions right off the bat. Sookie's eyes widened as she looked back and forth from my hand on her leg to my eyes. Her heartbeat started its own crescendo and I smiled knowingly at her and placed my hand back on the wheel. She let out an inaudible sigh and turned on the radio to try to find some music to ease her worried mind.

"Police are looking into the disappearance of one Miss Caroline Fields. Detective Reynolds states that the girl was first listed as a runaway, but her parents became worried when she did not call to let them know she was alright. Her father recalls the night she went missing."

"We had a disagreement and I thought that she had just left the house to jog it off, but when I couldn't reach her cell phone and couldn't find her on the parish road I knew something was wrong." A muffled noise followed as somebody grabbed the microphone away from the man.

"Please, if you have any information on our daughter's whereabouts, please, please call the Sheriff's Department in Eastwood. She's our special little girl and we just want her home safe and sound."

We were pulling up to my house, but Sookie barely noticed. She just stared at the radio. I could tell by looking at her that she was close to tears again, but the feelings I could detect from her fired in rapid succession. Confusion. Hurt.. and just the slightest hint of anger.

"She lied to me. She said her parents were gone. If I had known she was a runaway I would have sent her straight back home."

"That's probably why she deceived you." I didn't want to say the next thought that came to mind. "Sookie, we may have a problem if they're conducting a investigation on her disappearance. Her picture is going to be posted all around nearby towns and on the television as well. There's no way to know how the Fellowship is going to react when they find out about this."

"What are you saying Eric?"

"They can't just return Caroline to her parents Sookie. They kidnapped her and they can't count on her to stay quiet about the situation. They don't want any bad press so the best action they can take and the most probable will be to dispose of her."

"Oh sweet Jesus. No, no, no." Sookie looked like she was going to overload very soon. Her head snapped up to look hopefully in my eyes, nervously biting her bottom lip. "Is there anything we can do to stop them?" I used my hand to envelope her small delicate fingers. She grasped my hand like a lifeline and took a deep breath.

"Yes, but we need to work fast in case they've already heard the news and I'm going to need your help with this Sookie."

"Just tell me what to do Eric."

"Call the police and tell them you heard muffled screams coming from your church on Layfayette Drive. They'll send police officers to investigate your anonymous tip. With any luck they'll still have Caroline there and then we can kill two birds with one stone." I smiled to myself at this possibility.

"I doubt that they will be able to move the girl before then, and if the police don't find her, and the Fellowship still has her, then they'll wait until the police aren't watching to get rid of her."

"That's not really a solution."

"But it gives her a better chance."

"OK, Let me make the call."

I sat back and silently watched as Sookie gave a very convincing performance. She could be a fantastic actress. Come to think of it, I even had the connections to get her into the industry if that's what she wanted. I wonder if Sookie has ever really thought about a different "career"? She is far too talented to be a waitress. That might be a conversation to have later on. I snapped out of "down time" at the sound of Sookie's phone snapping closed.

"The officer told me that he would look into the matter personally. He was really upset that a church could possibly be involved with something like kidnapping."

"I have seen churches do far worse." She sat silent for awhile, at a loss as to what to say.

"At this point I don't even want to know. I just want to eat, take a shower and go to sleep."

"That sounds like a good idea. There's nothing more you can do and you've had a trying day yourself."

What she did next completely caught me off guard. She quickly unbuckled her seat belt and leaned in towards me to wrap her arms around me, which was a bit awkward since we were still sitting in the car, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Thank you Eric. You don't know how much it means to me that you're doing this. I know that this isn't any problem of yours, but you stepped up anyways and I really appreciate it."

This woman would never cease to surprise me. I was stunned that she would say something like that, but then I quickly rationalized that she was merely being a polite Southern Belle. Her show of appreciation had once again brought her far too close for comfort. She tilted her head up to kiss me on the cheek, and our lips just "accidentally" touched for a moment and my mind was flooded by a memory of Sookie and I laying in bed together.

_Even though she was naked I couldn't stop staring into her eyes. She was staring at me intently. Our fingers intertwined and she softly whispered, "I love you, Eric Northman." I brought her hand up to my lips, kissed the top of it, her palm, and then her wrist. "I love you too, Sookie Stackhouse."_

My eyes refocused on the woman in my arms and her bright clear blue eyes. Our lips had only touched for a slit second and we sat looking at each other. I wanted to kiss her again- a full, deep passionate kiss, but I wanted her to make the first move. I didn't have to wait long before Sookie leaned back into my embrace. She ran her fingers through my hair as she desperately kissed me for all she was worth. Her hands eagerly moved to my face, neck, shoulders. I pulled her closer to me and she ended up straddling my lap. My mouth moved to her ear to lick and suck the tender flesh there.

It all made sense now. I can't believe I didn't see it before. We both had been cautious and confused around each other. This was the feeling, the unidentifiable chink in my armor, the reason behind everything. We had been in love and then I went back to my old self and she couldn't say a thing. It sounded so new, so surreal. I love Sookie Stackhouse.

My lips kissed their way down to her neck while my hands roamed up and down her body. The memory of her soft, naked body pulsed in the back of my mind. I wanted to see it again, wanted to touch her, make her scream my name into the night. I started to pull her shirt over her head with some difficulty since the roof of the car kept her from reaching her arms up all the way. She giggled at me as I anxiously tried to pull her shirt off so I decided to make it easy on myself and simply tore the shirt off her. She gasped, then proceeded to kiss me with utter abandon as I tried to focus on unhooking her bra with her lips on my neck.

Seconds later I removed her bra and her beautiful luscious breasts were staring me right in the face. I kneaded them with my hands and ran my thumbs across her taut nipples. I was rewarded by her moaning. She once again surprised me however when she grabbed hold of my head and directed me toward her breasts. Great minds think alike. Her hands tugged on my hair, spurring me on. I started by languidly sliding my tongue across her nipples, eliciting a gasp. I smiled to myself. I'm going to love making her scream. My lips closed around a nipple and started sucking. I reveled in the sounds of her moans and gasps. I took her breast as far into my mouth as I could, feeling her heart just inches away from my tongue. _I love you Sookie. _Her head leaned back as she whispered.

"I love you too Eric."

A/N: Well I hope that this chapter was worth the wait. I'm serious about the whole Saturday thing. I feel terrible that I let you all down like that. You can now expect a new update from me on at least one of my stories every Saturday. Please let me know what you thought of the chapter. Reviews make me write faster. Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend.

Love, PIP


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I'm so grateful to those of you who took the time to give this story a chance, even though it's seemingly not about Sookie and Eric. Sometimes you've just got to introduce conflict to bring two people together. Hope you enjoy.

Sookie's POV:

The drive to Eric's was really quiet. I guess being a vampire, he didn't really see the need to make up for the awkward silence. It had probably been one of the most stressful days of my life so I appreciated the lack of conversation as time to just think. The road whizzed by at an alarming rate, but I found I was too exhausted to care what speed we were going. Eric placed his hand on my knee and my senses kicked into overdrive. I could feel how cold his palm was through the denim of my jeans. I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat as its pace quickened, but most prominently I could feel my traitorous body respond to his touch.

He removed his hand and I let out an exasperated sigh. What the hell was he doing? Didn't he know he could give a girl a panic attack like that? If he didn't, then his gracious plenty certainly would. Woah there Sookie. I inwardly chided myself for getting so worked up thinking about his dick.

I was just an asset. He would never be my Eric again and the sooner I accepted that, the sooner I could get over him. I didn't foresee that being very soon at all.

Needing a distraction to help calm my nerves, I turned on the radio to listen to some music, when a female reporter began a dialog about a missing girl in her teens. At the mention of Caroline's name, my eyes widened in horror. They thought she had been abducted and to some extent they were right I guess. What really stuck in my craw was the fact that she had lied to me about her parents. Here I thought that we had something in common. The car has come to a halt, but I am too engrossed in the story to look up from the radio.

The news story ends and Eric shuts off the car, effectively immersing me in silence once more. The vampire sheriff seems to be eying me with a look of concern. It's the look he gives when he's scared I'm about to cry. I explain how she lied to me and Eric makes the excellent point that she probably lied because she didn't want to go home. I felt so foolish and now even more worried about the teenager.

Eric seemed like he wanted to say something and I made him spit it out eventually.

"Sookie, we may have a problem if they're conducting a investigation on her disappearance. Her picture is going to be posted all around nearby towns and on the television as well. There's no way to know how the Fellowship is going to react when they find out about this."

Oh shit. I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach."What are you saying Eric?"

"They can't just return Caroline to her parents Sookie. They kidnapped her and they can't count on her to stay quiet about the situation. They don't want any bad press so the best action they can take and the most probable will be to dispose of her." I hadn't even considered this on my list of worries, which was growing longer each second.

I had to do something, anything to help get Caroline back. I was feeling so damned useless just sitting here.

Eric took hold of my hand when I asked, "Is there anything we can do to stop them?" I had a feeling I was not going to like the next words that came out of his mouth. I was surprised and relieved when he told me I could call the authorities. The call was fast and I found it pretty easy to pull off a convincing performance for the police officer. I didn't mention anything about Caroline in particular since that might seem a bit fishy, but instead stuck with the story that I had heard the muffled screams of a girl coming from the church's basement. I started crying for good measure, lamenting that I would need to find another church to go to now. He asked me if I wanted to remain anonymous, and I replied that I never wanted to think about this incident again.

I snapped the phone shut, satisfied that I had done something to help. I looked over at Eric and he stared intently back into my eyes.

"The officer told me that he would look into the matter personally. He was really upset that a church could possibly be involved with something like kidnapping."

"I have seen churches do far worse." I didn't really want to contemplate the possibilities at the moment.

"At this point I don't even want to know. I just want to eat, take a shower and go to sleep."

The placid blue of his eyes seemed to soothe me considerably. I had a strange urge to wrap my arms around him and that's what I did. At first he balked at my embrace, but soon he hugged me back and when I looked up at him he gently pressed his lips to mine. Well that did it!

Seconds later I started to kiss him in earnest, running my fingers through his long blond hair. He pulled me onto his lap while we continued to go at it like a couple of horny teenagers. The difference was that there was no comparison between the abilities of the viking and a that of a eighteen year-old boy. He broke off the kiss to suck and nibble at the sensitive flesh behind my ear, then moved on to my neck. When he gazed back at me, his eyes showed shock at first which was quickly replaced by lust.

He removed my bra and began the torturous process of taking slow, steady licks across my nipples. I moaned in wanton delight, which spurred him to take as much of my breast as he could fit into his mouth and begin sucking on it. I heard a muffled, fuzzy sound in the back of my mind and pushed it away. It became more persistent and soon I recognized it as Eric's voice._ I love you Sookie_.

I threw my head back and whispered through labored breath, "I love you too Eric."

All of the sudden he stopped and stared at me with an unreadable expression. I was about to bitch at him for stopping when I realized that he had said nothing this whole time. I had read his thoughts without knowing it. Oh shitshitshit. My eyes widened at the realization.

"What did you just say?" He seemed to want me to tell him that I was talking about olive juice and that there was no telepathy at work. I sighed and placed my hand on his cheek. He took my hand and repeated his question again. I knew I had to tell him. He probably would have figured it out sooner or later.

"I said... Eric, you know what I said." I couldn't seem to bring myself to say it when he was looking at me so expectantly like that.

"Yes, but I want you to look me in the eyes this time." I automatically thought about other past activities that he had requested eye contact for and my libido started hopping up and down. My girly parts were still straddling his erection. Not helping!

"Eric, I", he placed his palm on my cheek. "I" he brushed my hair behind my ear "I" then licked his lips "I, oh goddamnit" I took his face in my hands and kissed him with all the emotion and strength I had left in me. It was soft at first; then it shifted to a hungry, passionate kiss. What seemed like minutes later, I went up for air. "I love you, you don't remember it, but I love you anyway, even though you can be a manipulative jerk sometimes. I love you."

His countenance turned to that of mock hurt. "Manipulative jerk?"

"Damn it Eric, Did you just hear what I said?"

"No, not at all. Say it again." He gave me a smile that managed to simply make me even wetter than I already was. It was frustrating as hell when he did that. I took the hand that had been on his cheek and slapped him hard across the face and proceeded to open the car door and lift myself off his lap. I was angrily stomping towards the house even though I didn't have a key.

I felt his hands on my shoulders a second later and he spun me around to look at him once more. Since he was standing now, I had to crane my neck up pretty far to look into his eyes.

"Don't be angry with me Lover." My heart skipped a beat at that.

"You remember?" The only other time he had called me lover was when he was staying with me those two weeks in January.

He nodded and smiled down at me. "Yes, I remember."

"You remember!" In my excitement I catapulted myself into his arms, wrapped my legs around his waist and kissed him until I couldn't breathe. Then a stray thought occurred to me.

I slowly unwrapped my legs from him and slid down. "Wait, how much do you remember?"

"I've only gotten small fragments of memories. I remember me sitting in your kitchen while you cleaned my feet. I also remember laying in bed together telling each other that we loved one another."

"Oh, I thought you would have remembered something else." That something else being me blowing the head clear off the shoulders of the were bitch Debbie Pelt and Eric hiding the body.

"What would that be?" He appeared amused by my nervous behavior. I floundered to think of something that would distract him and lead him away from the memory I was currently thinking about.

"Oh nothing, just a really great shower, that's all." His eyes became hooded with lust.

"Well perhaps we should shower together so I remember?" My libido was doing a happy dance at this point and I could barely respond from the look he was giving me.

"uh-huh" was all I managed to get out before he had scooped me up in his arms and rushed to the house. I squealed like a school girl. Eric unlocked the front door, punched in some security code inside and then rushed us down a long hall to the right of the foyer. His heavy boots barely made a sound on the tile and all I could hear was my heartbeat start its frantic cadence again. I couldn't believe I was doing this.

Did I really want to do this so soon after all I had been through today? I looked up at my Viking and thought: hell yes! I grabbed his face in my hands and pulled him down for another searing kiss. He was still holding me close. My eyes closed as became lost in that kiss. I hadn't even been paying attention to where he was taking me.

Soon enough he was setting me down gently onto the the cold tile of what appeared to be a massive bathroom. I had misplaced my heels sometime during our makeout session in the car so my feet were bare and I was still topless as well, though I hadn't bothered to take inventory of my clothing until now. Looking down at myself clad only in jeans kind of made me break into a fit of giggles.

Eric stepped back from the shower after turning the water on full blast and regarded me with a perplexed look. "What's so funny lover?"

I could barely contain myself when he looked so confused. "I'm only wearing pants."

Not missing a beat, he inquired, "Oh does that mean you're not wearing panties?"

Oh boy, my eyes widened and I nervously bit my lip. "No, I'm wearing those too." He took a step closer and I was starting to get hot and bothered again by how close his gracious plenty was to me. His eyes gleamed darkly. "Perhaps we should remedy that, may I?"

All I could do was nod in response as his hands came forward to grip my hips. He brushed his fingers along the waist of my jeans, then popped open the button and slid down the zipper before sliding his thumbs under the waistband of my panties. I shivered in delight at the feel of his cool fingertips on my feverish skin. In one torturous and slow motion he slid my jeans and panties down my legs. He ended up on his knees holding my calves up one at a time as he helped me to step out of the puddle of clothes on the floor.

The end result was a completely naked Southern Belle with a fully clothed Viking at her feet. He was looking very closely at the small tangle of curls that was now conveniently at his eye level. He ran his hands up the back of my calves, up past my thighs, until he was gripping and kneading my ass. Slowly He brought one hand forward while the other held me steady. His fingers parted my curls and ran across my slick folds.

"mmmmm,oh please don't stop." Eric chuckled and slipped one finger inside me and I would have nearly collapsed if his other hand had not been supporting me. He pumped in and out slowly when I threaded my fingers through his hair and yanked hard. He pushed another finger inside of me and I came undone when he sucked hard on my nub. My orgasm hit me fast and hard and left me breathless, gasping for air.

When I regained the ability to form coherent sentences all I could say was "wow". I looked down at my smug viking with a smile.

"Eric I'm afraid you're entirely overdressed for the rest of tonight's activities."

"And what activities would those be?"

"Oh nothing too special. Just a shower during which I intend to return the favor."

And number 1000 Gracious Plenty is out of the gate before the bell has even been rung.

* * *

Frank waited patiently for the rest of the station to empty before making the call. He placed a cigarette in his mouth and proceeded to light up in the stairwell. It was now well past two o'clock and all the detectives on this floor should be gone by now. He dialed the number that he had taken great care to memorize and pushed Send. It rung twice before being picked up by a man with a gruff sounding voice.

"Hello?"

"Carl, you idiot, put Tom on the phone quick!"

"Ok Frank take it easy. Here he is." There was a slight shuffling noise as the phone was transferred from one hand to the next.

"Frank what is it? You said you'd only call if there was trouble."

"There is trouble, a shit load of trouble. You morons told me you would keep the Stackhouse bitch under wraps until I got there and I could deal with her."

"We haven't let her out of our sight. She's been tied up and gagged for the whole time boss."

"Well one of our detectives here at the station just got an anonymous tip that somebody heard muffled screams coming from the church. Please tell me that you weren't brainless enough to try to stow her at the church."

"No boss, we're at your warehouse just like you told us." Frank angrily spit out the cigarette butt and yelled.

"Then why the hell am I hearing about screaming at the church? If the cops find her there then that would link her kidnapping directly to the Fellowship. It's not like I got enough shit on my plate without having to worry about Steve fucking Newlin breathing down my neck!"

"Calm down boss. She's here at the warehouse. Did you call the vamp?"

A smile broke out over his face at the memory of the call. "Yes, he didn't know what hit him. He's going to have to play nice if he wants that fangbanging bitch back in one piece. And Tom if she gives you any trouble, you have my permission to teach her a lesson. We got no time for bullshit from a whore."

"So how long are we going to have to keep her here?"

"I've scheduled a meeting with the vamp in two weeks. I'll be around in a few days to check in."

With that he snapped his phone shut, pulled out another cigarette and smiled to himself. He could get a much better job under the payroll of the Newlins and then he would finally quit his shitty job here in the cold case files. Life was starting to look real good.

A/N: sorry that I cut the lemons short, but we'll get back to that shower soon. Next chapter I'm doing a Bill POV so it should get interesting when he figures out where Sookie's been. Can't wait to hear what you thought of the chapter. I hope you're all enjoying your weekend. Love, PIP.


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